Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, first elected to Congress in 1974, survived a challenge Tuesday from well-funded independent businessman Bill Bloomfield.

As of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Waxman had 53.7 percent (126,880 votes) and Bloomfield had 46.3 percent (109,297 votes) with all precincts reporting.

Waxman will represent the newly formed 33rd Congressional District, which includes Malibu, West Los Angeles and the coastal South Bay. Historically, Waxman has represented a district centered in West Los Angeles, and he spent much of the election campaigning in the southern areas of the district that were new to him.

Bloomfield spent more than $6 million of his own money in an attempt to win the race, according to campaign finance reports.

The money made Bloomfield a formidable opponent, but political analysts said Waxman, who has never won less than 61 percent of the vote in a general election, took the challenge seriously. He raised more than $1.5 million and sought to portray Bloomfield as a flip-flopper - Bloomfield switched from the Republican Party to become an independent in 2011. Before 2011, he had given generously to the Republican Party.

Waxman repeatedly called himself a "proud Democrat," telling voters about his work to implement more stringent warnings on cigarette packages, to improve the Clean Air Act, and to require more complete nutritional information on food labels.

Bloomfield said he was pleased with the way the race went.

"One thing is for sure," he said Tuesday evening, "this is the closest race (Waxman) has ever had."